Weekly Pastoral Message prepared by Rev. Murray Adamthwaite
for Sunday 23rd March 1997

From the Pastor: Singing in Worship II

We all know the effects of stimulants, such as alcohol, or drugs, or even crowd hysteria, which induce one to do things one would not otherwise do. These are often things that person would later be ashamed of, even in these days of lax morality. One effect in particular is the singing of raucous and bawdy songs. Paul notices the phenomenon in Ephesians 5:18 ("be not drunk with wine"), and by contrast urges his readers to be "filled with the Spirit", and thereby(!) to sing and make melody to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19). That is, the Holy Spirit is to be our "stimulant" to sing songs which have the mark of His holiness. What is sometimes not realized is that music itself can be an external stimulant. People can get "worked up" by rhythm and beat, or a catchy tune, but that is not in itself of the Holy Spirit. Let us ensure that our songs, and the motivation to sing, are induced by the Word of God, and the agency of the Spirit, and thus sing from our hearts the glories of Christ and His redemption.